A Certain Idea of France

The Life of Charles de Gaulle

By: Julian Jackson

Narrated by: John Banks

Brought to you by Penguin.

In six weeks in 1940, France was over-run by German troops and surrendered. One junior French general, refusing to accept defeat, made his way to England. On 18 June he spoke to his compatriots over the BBC, urging them to rally to him in London. At that moment, Charles de Gaulle entered into history. For the rest of the war, de Gaulle frequently bit the hand that fed him. He insisted on being treated as the true embodiment of France, and quarrelled violently with Churchill and Roosevelt. But through sheer force of personality and bloody-mindedness he managed to have France recognised as one of the victorious Allies.

For ten years after 1958 he was President of France's Fifth Republic, which he created and which endures to this day. His pursuit of 'a certain idea of France' challenged American hegemony, took France out of NATO and twice vetoed British entry into the European Community. His controversial decolonization of Algeria brought France to the brink of civil war and provoked several assassination attempts. Julian Jackson's magnificent biography reveals this the life of this titanic figure as never before. No previous biography has depicted his paradoxes so vividly. Much of French politics since his death has been about his legacy, and he remains by far the greatest French leader since Napoleon.

Critic reviews

Julian Jackson's biography is a worthy monument to this extraordinary figure. He has a good eye for the telling quotation and a magnificent capacity to place de Gaulle, one of the most fascinating subjects in twentieth-century politics, in his historical and political setting. The result is a wonderful history of modern France disguised as the biography of a statesman. (Mark Mazower)

Scholarship of the highest class ... a truly great book, for after this all other biographies can be cast aside. (Simon Heffer)

Only a great biography could do justice to such a man. This one does it, magnificently. (Noel Malcolm)

More than just another, bigger, biography ... he has the skill and style to maintain a dramatic narrative over nearly 800 pages of text (Robert Tombs)

A suitably monumental achievement. (Lewis Jones)

Excellent, but weird pronunciation of some French names

Great voice acting, on the whole, but I couldn't let the narrator's pronunciation of Montesquieu as "Monteskwee" slide.

Five stars in spirit, nonetheless; I like this narrator a lot, and I don't want to be impolite. Still, though.

Outstanding biography, awful pronunciation

Excellent dissection of De Gaulle's personality and deep understanding of the wider context although in my opinion the book would have benefited from being a bit shorter.
Julian Jackson shows De Gaulle's theatrical and almost grotesque pride and prickliness was real but he made a srewd use of brinkmanship and was ready to back down when necessary. Still, his ingratitude to the Allies and later his meanness to the US and Britain is shocking. His extreme awkwardness in his early career gave way to a more self-assured stance and there is an element of mischievous fun in his brutality which somehow makes it less odious. His oratory and litterary style, while often vague and opaque, was clearly outstanding.
Unfortunately the reader mispronounces half the French names he comes across, sometimes beyond recognition. This became so annoying that I switched to the excellent French version of the book, also available on Audible.

Superb!

Captures the era, the man and his genius.Brilliant book if you want to learn about WW2 and France. Loved it!

Excellent and thorough tour de Force of de Gaulle

It is by far one of the best biographies of de Gaulle. A very interesting walk through his life and career. I knew a lot about de Gaulle during the war but found it interesting to know more of him “ruling” France in the 60s.

A masterpiece

Thrilling account of the life and time of De Gaulle. Brilliantly written and read and difficult to put down.